BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 551
	By: Swanson (Bettencourt)
	State Affairs
	5/15/2025
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Under current statute volunteers, advocates, and paid employees have to provide their residential address on a public document as compensation for contributing time, resources, or labor to a campaign for a candidate that they support presents dangerous situations and that campaigns often attract volunteers who are still minors but who are passionate about the political system. Publicly posting someone's address leaves them vulnerable to harassment or worse by a bad actor, political opponent, or corrupt official. Currently, the Texas Ethics Commission requires individuals on campaign finance reports to disclose an address, which is then made publicly available. H.B. 551 provides for the removal of the residential address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure, other than the city, state, and zip code of that address, before making such a report available on the Internet. 

H.B. 551 amends current law relating to address information contained on reports of political contributions and expenditures made available on the Internet by the Texas Ethics Commission.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 254.036, Election Code, by adding Subsection (b-1) to require the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), in prescribing the format of a report filed with TEC under Subsection (b) (relating to requiring that each report filed under Chapter 252 (Political Reporting) with TEC be filed by certain means), to ensure the report includes a space to indicate whether the address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure is a residence address.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 254.0401, Election Code, by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-2), as follows:

(e) Requires TEC, before making a report filed under Section 254.036(b) available on the Internet, to remove each portion, other than city, state, and zip code, of certain addresses, including the residence address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure if the individual's address is indicated in the space described by Section 254.036(b-1) as being a residence address. Deletes existing text providing that the address information removed is required to remain available on the report maintained in TEC's office but is prohibited from being available electronically at that office. Makes nonsubstantive changes.

(e-2) Provides that the address information TEC removes under Subsection (e) is required to remain available on the report maintained in TEC's office but is prohibited from being available electronically at that office.

SECTION 3. Makes application of this Act prospective to January 1, 2026.

SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 2025.